Yeah this part sounds a bit set up for my taste. No context? How did he find out what device was used? Did he talk to the guy? More likely, he tested it on himself with a friend.
The post from Ars Technica [1] on the same subject has more details about the encounter. The researcher had it happen twice in two different trips, they were able to identify the person running the exploit because that was the person in common between both trips. This is very movie like in a sense still.